The CUB Report – 2011

November, 2011

Issue Number 11 features:The Launching of Our New WebsiteAnniversary of the McCubbin DNA Project Jamaica and Guyana McCubbins Obituary for Harold McCubbin, 99 yrs, of Jamaica South American McCubbins Remembering Our Military Heroes Pictures from Australia The Acting Ancestry of the Girvan McCubbins

The Launching of our New Website

We met our deadline to launch our new website by November or December 2011!

It’s been a few years since we made the decision to design a new website. Compiling all the material that we’ve gathered over the last eleven years and creating a format and pattern for navigation was a huge challenge. The biggest hurdle was to bring all the information together into a readable flow. We hope we’ve done that for you. There will be, no doubt, errors and omissions and we would appreciate your input.

Laurel, daughter of James and Lorna McCubbin, is our technical creator and webmistress. She says that she “stands a-ready, er, sits a-ready, to fix the errors, typos, and any broken links so let me know!”.

The lovely banner photo at the top of the website is a photo of Drumlanrig Castle, nr Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. Andrew McCubbin, born 1792, was a Steward at Drumlanrig. The photo by Kenny Muir is used with permission. Kenny has lots of wonderful pictures of Scotland on his Flickr page.

Fourth Anniversary of the McCubbin DNA Project

by Lorna McCubbin

In 2011 we have had more exciting additions to our DNA family tree. We now have 47 members.

One of our pleasant experiences was helping the McCubbins of Jamaica and Guyana connect their families. We heard from Howard McCubbin who had some old pages from a note book from the 1800’s, written in Jamaica. Howard’s family had moved to Guyana. A DNA test proved that Howard was of Group 1. The notes then helped in determining that Howard of Guyana and Harold (and Joy) of Jamaica were on the same family tree. The Guyanese McCubbins had always wondered where they came from. When Kathy Hopkins, (a newly found ‘cousin’, of Group 1), compiled all the info, Howard’s brother Steve, told us I must say my dad would have been so happy to finally having this link to our Jamaican cousins and beyond confirmed. I can recall, as a young boy, my dad pulling out the very crumbly and fragile notebook and telling us of our family but up until now it was more of a fantasy than a reality. I cannot tell you how happy I am that my boys will grow up knowing of this rich family history. Happy, happy, happy. : ) ”

McCubbins in Jamaica, Guyana, Peru and Cuba

by Kathy McCubbing Hopkins

McCubbins in Jamaica and Guyana Joy McCubbin, born in St Elizabeth, Jamaica, contacted us in the summer of 2008 and told us what she knew of her ancestors: two brothers (Andrew and John McCubbin) who had migrated from Scotland to Jamaica and who worked in the sugar industry; Andrew being accidentally burned by the steam in his factory, and the brothers thought to have returned to Scotland after this accident.

Andrew and John McCubbin from Stranraer We started to try and research the family but progress was initially slow. However, we did find a census record in 1861 which showed an Andrew McCubbin living in George Street, Stranraer, Scotland with his uncle and aunt, Hugh and Sarah McCubbin: a Scholar, age 13, born Jamaica. In 1871, age 22, he appears as a Sailor lodging in the household of Jane Gibson and her family in Glasgow, Scotland, born West Indies. We noted that his grandfather, John McCubbin c.1788-1862 had also been a Seaman. Being the only McCubbin we had found in a UK census record born in Jamaica, it was concluded that he must be linked with the brothers Joy talked about, so the siblings of Hugh McCubbin were examined and among his 6 siblings there was indeed an Andrew John (christened 1808, Stranraer) and a John (christened 1823, Stranraer), part of families #40 and #81 (which had been previously linked).

Andrew McCubbin and his family Young Andrews father, Andrew, was found on a passenger list travelling from Falmouth in Jamaica to London in 1868, and in 1871 at a meeting of Planters held at Paynes Hotel in Montego Bay to discuss the immigration question. This would have been to discuss the influx of Indian and Chinese immigrants, who were severely discriminated against and faced great hardships in their adopted country, and who were often paid less than the ex-slaves they were brought in to replace. This had been a contentious issue in Jamaica for some time: 20 years prior to this an article in the Jamaican daily newspaper, The Gleaner, reported We thought it necessary yesterday to deal at some length with the Morning Journals reiterated assertion that the present island debt and the bankrupt condition of the country had been occasioned solely by immigration, and for the benefit only of a particular class, the planters.

Further research showed Andrew McCubbin in the County of Cornwall, Jamaica, specifically in the parish of St Elizabeth working as a Vestryman and a Magistrate between the years 1857 and 1879. It is not known when Andrew and his brother John migrated to Jamaica, but an interesting note in The Gleaner in 1937 recorded that in January 1841, for instance, 322 emigrants landed in Jamaica from Stranraer in Scotland. the brothers must have emigrated earlier than this because Andrews first child was born in April 1841, but it does show that it was not unusual for Scots to emigrate to Jamaica during that period.

Links were found with the FRAY family: Henry Fray married Teresa McCubbin, daughter of Andrew McCubbin on 4 January 1860. Henry and Teresa had a number of children and they lived at Clarendon Park (used for growing dyeing woods, according to the 1910 Directory for the Parish of Clarendon). English census records and passenger lists show that Henry and Teresas descendants kept contact with relatives in England, with Teresa herself arriving in Liverpool, England in 1912 aboard the Heredia, an incoming passenger ship from Kingston, Jamaica before her return to the West Indies and death later that year in June 1912, at Clarendon Park. One of their daughters, Teresa McCubbin Fray, married Alfred Pawsey, the lessee of the sugar plantation known as Parnassus, and owner of Bog and Gibbons in the parish of Clarendon. They also lived at Manchester Park and in Kingston, with descendants appearing on English censuses in Walthamstow in Essex, Black Torrington in Devon, and Torquay in Devon. Teresa Pawsey herself died in Felixstowe in Suffolk, England.

Notices in The Gleaner record that Teresa McCubbins sister, Jean, lived with the family at Clarendon Park until she died in 1927.

More recently a marriage record has been found for Andrew McCubbin who married Mary Ann Tomlinson on 7 January 1857. It is wondered whether this might have been a second marriage, as it happened so many years after the birth of the children (between 1841 and 1852), but it is interesting to note that daughter Teresa McCubbin gave her mothers (?) maiden name to her daughter Amy Tomlinson Fray, who was born in 1871. When Mary Ann died the following notice appeared in The Gleaner: “May 1911 – McCubbin – At Clarendon Park, the residence of her daughter Mrs Teresa Fray on the 24th inst. Mrs Andrew McCubbin aged 93 years relict of the late Andrew McCubbin Esq of Strenrear [sic] Wigtownshire, Scotland and J.P. of St Elizabeth and Hanover.”

John McCubbin and his family In 2008 Joy gave us information about her father, Harold, an active nonagenarian, and his siblings and his parents Charles McCubbin and Sarah Pennicott, and his grandparents John McCubbin and Meggie Hill, John having migrated with his brother Andrew to Jamaica some years before. Harold kindly agreed to have a DNA test done and was shown to belong to what we call McCubbin DNA Group 1.

Recently more information has been found about John and Meggies children Beckey, Marian Elizabeth (c.1874), Charles Edward (b.c.1877, Joys grandfather) and their children in St Elizabeth (Carisbrooke, Biscany and Retirement, Shaws and Lacovia). Marian married Jasper Bryth Morgan, a dispenser, in 1897 and they had 5 children born between 1898 and 1904 in St Catherine, St Thomas and nearer to Marians home in St Elizabeth; Charles, a labourer, married Sarah Clementine Pennicott in 1900 and they had a large family whose descendants have been found in St Elizabeth.

Links with Guyana Research trailed off for a period until Howard McCubbin from Canada got in touch with us in April this year (2011) and told us that his father, Vernon, had been born in 1912 in Guyana and, in adult life, before he emigrated to Canada, had become the Chief Engineer of Transport and Harbours Department in Guyana. Vernon passed on some documents to Howard which referenced McCubbins in Jamaica in the 1800s.

Howard kindly provided copies of the documents which comprised a series of notes, very old and obviously fragile, but which seemed to be parts of a journal or notebook which included references to the authors family addresses, some of whom were already known to us, like Jane (Jean) McCubbin of Clarendon Park (who it appeared, from the notes, had also lived at a plantation known as Georges Valley), and a reference to another sister (unknown to us until that time, but later found to have been born in 1841 in Greenfield, St Elizabeth), Elizabeth McCubbin (who it appears had also lived at Georges Valley), and an address home to niece Miss Alfred Pawsey in Kingston. From the sibling and familial relationships described It was deduced that the author was the son of Andrew McCubbin and it was determined, from a note which read Andrew McCubbin, born in the Island of Jamaica in the year 1852 and below that 28 August 1884 will make me 32 years of age, that his birth date was 28 August 1852. Despite the small discrepancies with year of birth it is thought that this is the same Andrew McCubbin who was staying with his uncle and aunt in Stranraer in 1861, and then lodging in Glasgow in 1871.

Although the notes are few and difficult to read, some interesting information about life in tropical Guyana can be gleaned. One reads Sunday March 20 84. Had Fever. Monday June 23 Had Fever and was very sick that week. August 9 going to take a Dose of Pills. Another note includes Went to town to buy Palm Needles. Palm needles are used in sail making which ties in with Andrews occupation of Sailor recorded in the 1871 census in Glasgow, mentioned earlier.

It was obvious that this Andrew McCubbin was an ancestor of Howards why else would his grandfather, Joshua Stephen McCubbin, have passed the notes onto his son Vernon McCubbin (Howards father, born in Guyana)? Unfortunately it has been discovered that Guyanan records are notoriously difficult to view in Guyana, and none are available online, so it may not been possible to make a documented link, but Howard kindly agreed to a DNA test which has confirmed that he is closely related to Harold (Joys father) and therefore also part of McCubbin DNA group 1.

Photo Gallery of The McCubbins of Guyana (click to view)

The notes that Vernon possessed, contained information which is tantalizing in its lack of context, for example: “My son Andrew Anton McCubbin died at Bel Air November 2 1885 and below it “Mr Andrew McCubbin had been died at Bel Air, December 25 1889. Belair is a district of Georgetown, Guyana. Could the latter have been Andrew McCubbin, christened in Stranraer in 1808? Had he moved to Guyana with his son, where he died? There seems to be no other candidate.

Both Joy and Howard mentioned an Andrew McCubbin who was an Engineer in Trelawney, according to Joy, and married to Ann Maria Clarke from Barbados, according to Howard, but we can only suppose that he might have been a son of John McCubbin who married Meggie Hill. Interestingly, there seems to be a place in Jamaica called Meggie Hill!

Jamaica – Trelawney & Clarendon (red)

Mosquito Cove Sugar Estate Active research was resumed and documents relating to the sale of Mosquito Cove Sugar Estate, owned by Andrew McCubbin, Henry Fray and his wife Teresa Fray were identified, and later examined at the National Archives at Kew, Richmond in England.

The documents relate to the liquidation of the Estate and comprise a large package of legal documents which yield some interesting information. It seems that the Estate was not profitable due to the collapse in the price of sugar, and possibly mismanagement. Consequently a petition was made for the appointment of a Receiver in 1876 and an Estate Manager, Jacob Jackson, was appointed to run the plantation.

Examination of these legal documents reveals that the property was sold to Andrew McCubbin, Henry Fray and Teresa Fray in 1866 for £2,300 and it was conveyed upon certain trusts for the benefit of the infant children of Teresa Fray, with the stated aims being that the profits from the Estate would be used to maintain and educate the children until they reached 21 years of age.

Reference is made to other properties leased by Henry Fray, specifically Barbican and Georges Valley (which was mentioned in the notes Howard provided).

Also mentioned is an accident to the Mill of the Estate (which got broken) in June 1872. Perhaps this was the accident Joy had heard about, and mentioned to us when she first contacted the project in 2008.

McCubbin et al were clearly not happy with Jacksons management of the Estate and alleged (in an affidavit of 30 August 1876) reckless expenditure and gross mismanagement and that this was deliberate, with the aim of ensuring the forfeiture of the Estate. It was claimed that Jackson refused to show the trustees the books, when they visited the Estate and requested to see them, and asked for a searching oral investigation of the accounts on oath in this Island, it being impossible for the accounts to be effectively scrutinised on the Island.

The Petitioner and Purchaser, John Bell Sheriff, countered (in his affidavit dated 16 November 1876) that …I satisfied myself that Mr Jacob Jackson… was a Gentleman of integrity and ability and thoroughly competent to manage the estate and lay out to the best advantage whatever Capital might be required for working it. I had ascertained before this that under the management of the said owners the Estate had not been properly worked and as I was informed that they were considerably indebted to various persons in the Island I made it a condition that none of them should reside on the Estate lest the stock should be seized by the Creditors and for this reason I insisted on having some independent and competent person appointed to cultivate and manage the Estate. Harsh words indeed. He further claims that The property has much improved under the said Jacob Jacksons management but owing to the decrease in the price of sugar and other causes this estate in common with most of the estates in the Island of Jamaica has become considerably depreciated.

The conveyancing documents included detailed accounts of the sugar estate and also lists of livestock and deadstock. In a letter dated 8 November 1876 from the Receiver it is stated The dwelling house is occupied by the overseer and submanager of the property and therefore affords no rent. The list of machinery and plant at Mosquito Cove was specified as fixtures on the estate, viz a steam engine, mill, 2 steam clarifiers, a multitubular boiler, water pumps, a battery of copper boilers, complete, a new still 800 gallons, pump and connected with still house all in working order. Particulars of Live and Dead Stock published on 14 March 1877 include: 47 working steers; 4 working spayed heifers and 3 mules. Also 2 cattle carts with yokes and chains; 1 mule cart with harness and 1 cane plough and chains complete.

A collection of contemporary photos which show sugar production in Jamaica can be viewed online:

The sale of Mosquito Cove was completed on 14 March 1877, for £2,500.

Other McCubbin families in Jamaica A couple of other McCubbin families have been identified which must surely descend from either Andrew or John, not least because of the similarity of their given names, but no firm links have as yet been identified:

There is a large group headed by James McCubbin and Ann Elizabeth Stewart in St James, centred around Springfield and Spring Mount. Records have been found for 6 of their children and descendants: Andrew McC (b.c1858) who married Catherine Anderson in 1883, with 8 children born between 1883 and 1905; Theresa Deleon McC (b.1859) who married James Archibald Campbell, with son Alfred, b.1881; Louisa McC (b.c.1870) who married Henry Clarke in 1903, with 10 children born between 1889 and 1909; Esther McC who had 4 children between 1897 and 1917; John McC (b.c.1874) who married Rosa Tharpe in 1902, with a daughter born in 1905; Elizabeth McC (b.c.1872) who married William Haughton Tharpe in 1896, with 8 children between 1883 and 1906; Mary Ann McC married to Edward Stothart with 7 children born between 1879 and 1897. Another family headed by Andrew McCubbin in St James (Montpelier) and Westmoreland (Bethel Town, Greenwich) includes (possibly) John McC b.1867 with putative brother Wilford (b.c.1868) married to Eliza Reid in 1894 with 4 children born between 1897 and 1905.

Information relating to a number of other individuals, which we have thus far, been unable to place has also been discovered.

We are very keen to hear from any more West Indian McCubbins and to share family history with them.

Obituary for Harold McCubbin, 99 years, of Jamaica

Harold McCubbin (1912-2011)

IN MEMORIAM

Joy’s father, Harold, sadly passed away on 17 September 2011 at the grand age of 99.We are very grateful to Harold for passing on information about his ancestors to his children and helping us to discover our Jamaican cousins. We send our sincere condolences to his family and friends.Thank you Harold. Rest in Peace.

~~~

McCubbins in Peru

by Kathy McCubbing Hopkins

Prompted by a Peruvian McCubbin, descendant of John McCubbin who emigrated to Callao in Peru in the mid 19th century, we started to try and research ancestors in this South American country which has proved to be quite a challenge, although the presence of online records at familysearch.org and passenger lists on ancestry.co.uk have helped to develop our knowledge of our Peruvian cousins somewhat.

We were told that John McCubbin was married to Margarita Butler and they had a son Alejandro McCubbin Butler (1858-1913), the great grandfather of our Peruvian contact. We found a brother of Alejandro called James, who was named on a passenger record, in 1923, as the father of David H McCubbin (b.c.1891, Trujillo, Peru) with his wife, Concepcion and their baby (only 20 days old and not yet christened) travelling from Cuba to New Orleans. David, who’s records in 1918 had shown to be a Mariner, was now working as a Sugar Boiler.

Children of Alejandro McC and his wife Ignacia Vivanco have been identified, tentatively, as Alejandro McC who married Julia Albarracin and whose daughter Rosa Blanca McCubbin Albarracin died in 1915 only 1 ½ months old, from whooping cough and, more certainly, Augusto McC (b.c.1889, Trujillo, Peru) who travelled to New York in 1910 as a student, and later married Angela Etelvina Urena. They had twins, Angela and Rosa, in 1914, in Lima, Peru.

Charles McC was born in 1892 in Peru and travelled to New York in 1910 as a student, heading for Boston, Mass. His father, Alejandro, is recorded as being in Salaverry in Peru which is just south of Trujillo.

Another McCubbin identified who was born in Trujillo, Peru c.1893 and who was also working as a Sugar Boiler (and therefore suspected of being the brother of David) was Daniel H McC who travelled from Cuba to New York in 1920.

Trujillo expanded greatly in the 19th century due to extensive irrigated agriculture with high production and profits from the sugar cane industry.

Having discovered McCubbin relations in Peru and Cuba, familysearch.org records for the whole of South America were scoured for McCubbins, but no other families were found, although disappointingly no Cuban records are available.

We would very much welcome contact with any other South American McCubbins with whom we can share family history, and would love to capture some DNA, in the hope that we can link our South American cousins with their Scottish roots.

Remembering Our Military Heroes

by Ronald ‘Rick’ McCubbin

Hart Countys Military Contribution in Two of Americas Greatest WarsMcCubbins Honor the Call.

Pvt. Samuel B. McCubbin 27th KY Infantry , Co. “E” Union Army

Pvt. Robert E. McCubbin 29th Infantry United States Army 116th regiment, Co. M

Throughout history America has turned to citizens during times of war to defend our country and thousands of brave men have answered the call. Hart County, Kentucky is no different than any other town and has produced many brave soldiers who joined and saw action in some of our greatest wars. From our current action in Iraq, to the Civil War, and World War II in between, numerous brave men from Hart County have served their country. Two, out of the hundreds, are being highlighted in this article to not only recognize Hart Countys contribution, but to recognize the men who answered the call.

Samuel B McCubbin & Lutisha Middleton McCubbin, Hart Co., KY

The McCubbin name is abundant in Hart County and has been so for many generations. Two native sons joined many others in battle and of these two men, fighting in two different wars, both seeing action, only one returned to Hart County to live and raise their family. Samuel B. McCubbin returned from the Civil War to raise ten children and lived to be one of the oldest men in Hart County, however, years later, his grandson Robert E. McCubbin left Hart County and saw action in the infamous D-Day Invasion and died in Normandy, France.

Samuel B., who was one of the many grandsons of the long, in-depth line of descendants of James P. and Mary McCubbin, was born to Zacheriah and Nancy Chism-McCubbin on August 25th, 1833. He joined the Union forces as a Corporal on October 12th, 1861 at Rochester, Kentucky. Samuel B. saw action that included Nelson County and Munfordville, KY to Tennessee, Mississippi, and Lost Mountain and Atlanta, in Georgia. According to the Adjutant Generals Report of the 27th Infantry of Kentucky, Company E, Samuel B. like most Kentuckians, had the choice of which side to fight for in order to show their allegiance as a Confederate or a Union soldier. Major John H. Ward opened a camp for recruits at Greensburg, KY on September 20th, 1861, which was described as only 24 miles from Buckners Confederate camp at Munfordville. Samuel B. joined many other men from Hart County, but Major Ward recruited from Casey, Taylor, Green, and Nelson Counties and gained recruits from within the Confederate lines in the area. Samuel B. suffered no significant injuries during the war, however, did take sick in Rochester, KY in 1862 but left with the Company to only get worse and did see a period of confinement in Corinth, Mississippi with a fever, but cannot state what kind. This information was found in Samuel B.s Declaration of Pension dated April 5th, 1915, and was a request for a pension increase. The interesting part of this is that I actually held this document while working in Washington, D.C. several years ago when I took some time to do research at the National Archives. To sit for hours and hold, review, and read my great, great grandfathers actual Civil War file is beyond description.

Samuel B. mustered out of the 27th Infantry, Co. E, on March 29th, 1865 in Louisville, KY. After his military service, he returned to Hart County and married Lutisha Middleton on October 18th, 1865 and at the ripe old age of 32, Samuel B. started his family, farmed, and built his house among other McCubbins on what today is known as Gardner Road. Samuel B. and Lutisha are buried on what was their farm, in the small Shelton-McCubbin Cemetery. Due to Samuel B.s late start in life by waiting to marry and have children at an age when many people the same age were almost grandparents, his descendants have been able to collect many photographs and documents that have allowed a litany of research information.

Like his grandfather James P., Samuel had a large family, twelve children, ten of which lived to reach adulthood, and numerous grandchildren. Samuel B., according to his obituary in the Hart County paper, was one of the oldest men in Hart County died at the home of his daughter, Minnie, on March 9th, 1928 at age 94, 6 months, and 13 days. Samuel B. left nine children, 44 grand children, and 35 great grand children for a total of eighty-eight living descendants in 1927!! No wonder we are still researching the McCubbin name. One of his grandsons was his son James Emmetts youngest son, Robert E. McCubbin. Robert was born to James Emmett and Ella Fults McCubbin on October 28th, 1911 in Hart County on the McCubbin farm, next to Samuel B. and Lutishas, on Gardner Road. Robert E. lived and grew up farming as a young boy with his brother Richard Curtis and father James Emmett until the late 1930s when James Emmett suffered an almost amputating injury of his leg that eventually led James and his entire family to sell the farm and move to Louisville for medical attention and ultimately a job in the private sector at Belknap Hardware Company.

In 2005, I took my great aunt, Robert E.s sister Josephine, to the old McCubbin area and at the age of 92, she remembered and pointed out everything along the road and talked about growing up in the area. One of the many stories she told about her grandfather, Samuel B., was about his apple cider mill, giving her a nickel to play the piano, keeping bottles cold by putting them in the creek on the farm, and living so close that we could yell across the field to each other. She said that was their version of a telephone. When I asked her what she remembered the most about Samuel B. she quickly snapped he was old!…. which I found humorous coming from a 92 year old calling someone old! She went on to say that all of the grandchildren loved being around Grandpa McCubbin, as he was known, and she talked about the fact that her grandfather, a Civil War vet actually lived to meet a grandson who would eventually fight in one of the most famous battles in America; Normandy, France.

Robert E. enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 23rd, 1943 and went to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana. From there Robert E. found himself in the European area and eventually England where he remained until his unit, the famous 29th Infantry, crossed the Channel to invade the beaches of Normandy. Robert E. survived the invasion and with thousands of other soldiers, went inland and was a part of the capture of St. Lo, France. As a young boy I would sit and read these small, copy like letters from Robert E. about where he was located, the people that he had met, and eventually about the country of France. Only later would I learn that I was reading all of the V-Mail that Robert had sent home from the war. Some of the V-mail that stands out, among others, is one dated June 20th, 1944 where Robert wrote to his parents to tell them that he was in the invasion and have been on the move ever since. He went to say that France is a little like England with hedgerows and stone houses, but looks more like Kentucky. On June 22nd, 1944 he wrote to my grandfather, his brother Curtis, to say that he had written the folks the day before yesterday and that this combat business sure isnt much fun. And finally, what is believed to be the last letter that Robert wrote, dated July 24th, 1944 he wrote home to James Emmett and his mother Ella, to assure them that he was still O.K., that he was able to attend church services, and that he had befriended a young lieutenant from New Albany, Indiana that he was the only person from around home. He ends the letter with a plea to his brother Curtis to not to forget to send him a Louisville paper so he could keep up with the news.

Robert E. McCubbin

Robert E. lost his life almost 2 months after the famous D-Day Invasion in the area of Marigny, France and was originally buried in the Marginy-St. Lo Cemetery until 1948 when he was re-interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Louisville. His cause of death is listed simply as KIA-GSW, for Killed in Action-Gun Shot wound. Robert E. McCubbin was never married, had *no children, and left only great nieces and nephews to carry on his name and legacy. Perhaps that is the main reason that I have researched Robert E. to the level that I have because I believed it was left to me to do. As a young boy I can remember my grandfather, his brother Curtis who was declined enlistment due to a physical condition, talking about Robert E. that not only he had died for his country but the fact that he had no children always worried my grandfather that his memory and sacrifices would be lost in history. Today, the American flag that draped his coffin home from Normandy, France is proudly displayed in a flag box in the living room of my home in Bardstown, KY and along with the flag is the Purple Heart that he received. Though it was left to me, a great nephew whom not only had he never met, but never met his nephew, my father, either. My family is proud of all of our veterans, but especially Samuel B. and Robert E. McCubbin, two of Hart Countys own. These two men are to be honored among the thousands who served and paid the ultimate sacrifice. It makes it even more special when generations later, a grandson and a nephew can pay them the adoration they deserve. *(Robert had a child – Peter, born England) see CUB Report 2008 Ronald RickMcCubbin and his Amazing DNA Discovery

Two points of interest regarding my ancestors are that I now live within eye sight of a Civil War battle that Samuel B. was a part of while in Nelson County, KY and Robert E.s company, the 29th Infantry is portrayed in the movie Saving Private Ryan. Though fictitious to some degree, the movie brings alive what these brave men encountered and when watching it, I can not help but think that my great uncle from Hart County, KY ended up on Omaha Beach in Normandy France, in June of 1944 and the movie is based on his company.

Please contact me with any questions or genealogy information that you have, or for any that I may have, regarding ANY of the McCubbins of Hart County, KY as well as other McCubbins in America.

News from Australia

via Penny McColm

James McCubbin, Coonambie & Coolah Plaque at Coonamble, Australia

“Billy and Evelyn McCubbin of Scotland, were visiting Australia and Ken McCubbin showed them some of the areas where Billy’s (Group 1) family settled, including the memorial plaque to James McCubbin in Coonamble.

James McCubbin (1810-1888) was an extremely active man in a wide area of New South Wales, and appears to have been fully involved in his community. In 1845 the Maitland Mercury reports that he had been nominated for Council, and by 1846 he was a wheelwright and blacksmith in Coolah. By the next year he had been appointed as an agent for the Maitland Mercury, and also opened a new inn called the “Squatter’s Home” in Coolah. He became Coolah’s first postmaster in 1849 and by 1850 had opened a store there to supply the public with goods of “a superior quality and at exceedingly low prices.” In 1853 he even extended his skills to minor surgery, successfully resetting and splinting the fractured leg of a youngster who had had an accident whilst accompanying the first Government Geologist to visit the area (Samuel Stutchbury). In 1857 he established another store at Talbragar (Denison Town) and in that same year was the first settler to take up freehold land in Coolah. So by 1861, when he took over the “Red Heifer” (later called the “Red Cow”) in Coonamble, he had already made quite a name for himself.

His obituary commenced by saying “Last week there died at the residence of his nephew’s widow, near Rocky Glen, one of the oldest identities throughout these districts, Mr James McCubbin, many years since owned valuable properties around Coolah and Denison Town and in Coonamble. He was one of the most active, energetic, and successful businessmen in the north west in the primitive days, before railways were known in the colony even. A man “who could turn his hand to anything”, a mechanic, who could build a house or a waggon, an equally skilful worker in wood or iron, and withal a shrewd, and enterprising businessman, quick to see and enter upon a paying speculation.”

James’ fortunes changed after his wife Christina’s death in 1861, at only 32 years of age and James passed some of his businesses onto his nephew, and let other businesses go. He remarried in 1868 to Elizabeth Doolan, a 23 year old, but she only lived for 2 years following the marriage and died of nervous exhaustion, perhaps in labour? According to his obituary “for years Mr McCubbin has lived very quietly amongst his friends, a relic of past condition of colonial life, among new faces and activities to which he was little known.”

It is rather poignant, therefore, that this plaque has been put up in his memory and all McCubbin relations are, I’m sure, very proud that he has been honoured in this way. Certainly, according to Ken, Billy McCubbin (who carried out a lot of the early research about James McCubbin, and kindly share it with us) was thrilled to see it. His plaque, according to Ken McCubbin, in an email to Penny McColm, “is the third plaque in the display, being the first after those recognizing the Aboriginal heritage of the area, and before all the other European settlers.” by Kathy McCubbing Hopkins (Group 1)

From the ‘Bard’ Rob McCubbin in Australia

Forced to leave their family home in Scotland, Andie and Jessie battle the conditions on board the sailing ship to Australia in 1851, only to find themselves and their dreams dashed on the razor sharp rocks of barren King Island. Will Jessie’s unborn baby survive?

Sometimes family photos ‘come out of the blue’,when someone is looking through old boxes and albums. Such was the case with a relative of Rob McCubbin who sent him this one below.

The Acting Ancestry of the Girvan McCubbins

One of the Girvan McCubbins was the mother and grandmother of two Hollywood actors, Wilfrid Lawson and Bernard Fox respectively – you may not recognise their names now but you WILL know who they are!

Isabella McCubbin born 1868 was the granddaughter of William McCubbin and Martha Hay through their son William. In 1891 Isabella had moved to Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England where she can be found working as housekeeper for John M D Worsnop, a widowed artist.

1891 Census 100 Bradford Road, Huddersfield

By the 1901 census Isabella is now Johns wife and they have two small boys, Bernard and Wilfrid. There does not appear to be a marriage record for the couple, and the very fact that the master of a house is living with his former domestic servant is pretty unusual (unless you are the subject of a Catherine Cookson novel!) John being an artist was perhaps a bit of a bohemian who did not conform to the expected norms of society at the time!

Only Wilfrid appears with his parents in 1911, although Bernard is found returning from America in 1919 with his occupation listed as Actor. Another son Gerald does not appear on any census and so we can assume he was born after 1911.

Wilfrid Lawson

Wilfrid Lawson Worsnop was born on 14 Jan 1900 in Bradford, Yorkshire. By 18 he was acting on the stage and had dropped the Worsnop name. His film debut in 1931 was in East Lynne on the Western Front, a British comedy. For the next 30 years Wilfrid was in demand as a support/character actor and made many films and TV shows in both America and Britain. His films inccluded, 1938 Pygmalion; 1940 The Long Voyage Home; 1955 The Prisoner; 1956 War and Peace; 1963 Tom Jones; 1966 The Wrong Box.

Wilfrid in ‘The Wrong Box’ with Michael Caine

Wilfrid was a bit of a hellraiser which could make him difficult to work with. However, one story which has been told many times in the acting fraternity involved fellow actor and drinking buddy Richard Burton apparently Burton went to see a play Lawson was performing in. Lawson insisted on accompanying Burton to his seat and watching the start of the play with him. Burton asked his friend, Shouldnt you be going backstage and getting ready? Lawson replied No, no, plenty of time. As the play progressed Burton kept nudging Lawson to suggest that maybe he should head for his dressing room, but the actor was unconcerned. A good while later Lawson gripped Burtons arm and whispered, Ah, now, watch here. This is where I come in.

On 10 Oct 1966 Wilfrid died in London from a heart attack after a long and illustrious career.

His brother Gerald was also a stage actor and married fellow thespian Queenie Barratt. They had a son Bernard born in Port Talbot, Wales in 1927. Like his parents and uncles Bernard pursued an acting career.

Bernard Fox as Col. Crittenden in Hogans’s Heros

Fox as Dr Bombay in Bewitched with Elizabeth Montgomery

Fox made his screen debut in Spin a Dark Web/Soho Incident (1956) and played the man on the Titanic who spots the iceberg in the 1958 film A Night to Remember. Bernard also appeared in The Longest Day, The Mummy, and the 1997 version of Titanic (where he spots the iceberg again!) He has had literally hundreds of roles in television and film and only retired in 2004.However, it is for two particular roles that Bernard is perhaps best remembered Dr Bombay in Bewitched and Colonel Crittenden in Hogans Heroes. His extensive repertoire also sees him in such American classics as Colombo, The Flintstones, I Dream of Jeanie, Soap, Dukes of Hazzard, General Hospital, Dharma and Greg the list goes on and on!

Bernard has been married to wife Jacqueline for 40 years and they reside in America sadly he is the last surviving adult cast member from Bewitched.

We are especially grateful to those of you who provided samples for the DNA project. It is providing a great insight into our past.

Contact us about any questions or queries about your McCubbin ancestors. The McCubbin name, and variants, are registered with the Guild of One Name Studies Searching the McCubbin name and variants worldwide. Member #5414 mccubbin@one-name.org

The McCubbin DNA Project

Have you ever met a McCUBBIN who looks a lot like you, but isn't one of your family? Do you ever wonder if you are related to a McCUBBING, McCUBBINE, MacCUBBIN, McCUBBINS, or even a McKIBBEN? Where did your McCubbin family originate? Did you know that DNA testing can help find the answers to your questions? Special prices are given to males with the McCubbin surname at Family Tree DNA.